Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $59.40 and traded as high as $62.56. Lakeland Financial shares last traded at $61.05, with a volume of 338,475 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LKFN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

View Our Latest Report on LKFN

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.41. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.73.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,972.93. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the sale, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,336 shares of company stock worth $570,251. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.

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